Revocation of a transport business license is the strongest management measure in road transport, because it terminates at once the lawful business right of an entire operating line rather than merely fining a single trip. An FDI enterprise needs to understand the four case groups leading to revocation under Decree 158/2024/ND-CP, because two of them — not commencing operations after licensing and failing to remedy condition breaches — lie entirely within the enterprise’s own governance. This article presents the revocation cases, re-issuance procedures and timing, and answers whether the enterprise may operate while revoked.
Legal Basis
The road transport business license is issued, amended and revoked under Decree 158/2024/ND-CP on road transport activity, effective 1 January 2025 replacing Decree 10/2020/ND-CP. The licensing authority is the Department of Construction where the unit is headquartered, which is also the authority managing post-licensing conditions and issuing revocation decisions. Revocation under this decree is an administrative management measure on business conditions, separate from administrative sanctions under Decree 168/2024/ND-CP: a unit may be fined for a specific act and simultaneously have its license revoked if that act shows business conditions are no longer maintained. When the license is revoked, badges issued for the unit’s vehicles lapse with it.
The Four Revocation Case Groups
The first group is a license issued beyond authority or a licensing dossier containing falsified documents or untruthful declarations: revocation restores the legality of the licensing decision. The second group is a unit that, after being licensed, does not commence transport business operations within the prescribed period — the formal shell license case FDI groups often meet when a transport project is postponed without notifying the licensing authority. The third group, the most common in practice, is a unit breaching transport business conditions: not maintaining a qualified manager, vehicles failing conditions, journey monitoring data not transmitting, or serious and repeat load violations — and failing to remedy them within the period the regulator requires. The fourth group is a unit ceasing to exist legally, through dissolution, bankruptcy or revocation of its enterprise registration certificate. Before revoking in the third group, the regulator ordinarily records an inspection minute and orders remedy with a deadline; revocation is the final step when the enterprise does not perform that order.
Re-Issuance Procedures and Timing
Re-issuance of a transport business license after revocation follows the same sequence as new issuance: the enterprise files a license request with the Department of Construction, comprising the written request, corporate legal documents and a dossier evidencing full business conditions — the transport business plan, the vehicle list and inspection papers, the qualified manager’s file and the safety management function. The precondition is that the revocation cause has been resolved completely: a falsified dossier must be replaced by truthful documents with responsibility borne for the old act; condition breaches need remedy evidence; and where revocation is tied to a fixed-term suspension in a sanction decision, that period must have expired. The license processing time is five working days from receipt of a complete valid dossier under Decree 158/2024/ND-CP, after the licensing authority checks actual conditions where needed. Only once the new license is in hand are badges re-issued for each vehicle and operations resumed.
May the Company Operate While Revoked
No. From the moment the revocation decision takes effect, the unit no longer holds the right to run transport business within the revoked license’s scope; continuing to put vehicles into operation is treated as unlicensed transport business and sanctioned under both the investment-condition layer in Decree 122/2021/ND-CP and the sector layer in Decree 168/2024/ND-CP, and is a directly adverse factor for the re-issuance file. Transport contracts mid-performance must be handled by handing over to a licensed carrier or agreeing termination with customers; the enterprise cannot invoke contractual duties to keep running vehicles without a license. The only work the enterprise may do in this period is work outside the revoked transport business scope: vehicle maintenance, completing conditions, preparing the re-issuance dossier and complaining or suing against the revocation decision if it considers the decision unlawful — a complaint does not automatically suspend the revocation decision’s effect unless the competent authority decides to suspend enforcement temporarily.
Managing Revocation Risk for FDI Enterprises
The three revocation causes within the enterprise’s control are all preventable by routine compliance governance: maintain a living conditions file — manager, vehicles, journey monitoring data — reviewed quarterly rather than only when an inspection looms; respond to every regulator remedy order within its deadline and in writing, because silence in the face of a remedy order is the shortest path to a revocation decision in the condition-breach group; and when a transport project pauses, proactively notify and complete transport business suspension procedures instead of leaving the license dormant without operations. For an FDI group with several member units, one unit’s license revocation also creates a bad precedent for the whole group’s compliance file in the locality, so transport license condition governance deserves the same priority as tax and customs compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
In what cases is a transport business license revoked?
Under Decree 158/2024/ND-CP, a transport business license is revoked in four case groups: issuance beyond authority or a licensing dossier with falsified documents or untruthful declarations; the unit not commencing transport operations within the prescribed period after licensing — the dormant license case; the unit breaching business conditions — such as lacking a qualified manager, unfit vehicles or serious load violations — and failing to remedy them as required by the regulator; and the unit being dissolved, bankrupt or having its enterprise registration certificate revoked. Vehicle badges lapse together with the license.
How is re-issuance applied for?
Re-issuance follows the new-issuance procedure at the Department of Construction: file the request with a dossier evidencing full business conditions, including the transport business plan, vehicles and inspection papers, a qualified manager and the safety management function. The precondition is that the revocation cause has been fully resolved and, where revocation is tied to a fixed-term suspension in a sanction decision, that the suspension period has expired. Only after the new license is issued are badges re-issued for each vehicle.
How long does re-issuance take?
The processing time for a transport business license is five working days from receipt of a complete valid dossier under Decree 158/2024/ND-CP, excluding the time the enterprise spends preparing the dossier and remedying the revocation cause — in practice the longest part. If the dossier is incomplete, the licensing authority notifies amendments and the clock restarts when the dossier is perfected; the enterprise should also allow time for an on-site conditions appraisal at the unit.
May the company operate while its license is revoked?
No. From the effective moment of the revocation decision, the unit loses the right to run transport business within the revoked license’s scope; continuing to operate vehicles is treated as unlicensed transport business under Decree 122/2021/ND-CP and Decree 168/2024/ND-CP and directly prejudices the re-issuance file. Ongoing contracts must be handed over to a licensed carrier or terminated by agreement. The unit may only do work outside the revoked scope, such as vehicle maintenance, completing conditions, preparing the re-issuance dossier and complaining against the decision — a complaint does not automatically suspend the revocation decision’s effect.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council